Battery filler device having a puncturing element for piercing an evacuated battery enclosing can



March 14, 1950 G. B. ELLIS 2,500,169

BATTERY FILLER DEVICE mwmc A PUNCTURING ELEMENT FOR PIERCING ANEVACUATED BATTERY ENCLOSING CAN Filed Sept. 6, 1944 INVENTOR. GRENVILLEB. ELLIS I ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BATTERY mum nEvrcE mvmoA PUNC- TUBING ELEMENT roa PIEBGING as EVACUATED BATTERY ENCLOSING canGrenville B. Ellis, Red Bank, N. J., assignor to the United States ofAmerica as represented by the Secretary of War Application September 6,1944, Serial No. 552,8fl1

3 Claims. (01. 226-19) (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as

amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) The invention described hereinmay be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmentalpurposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

2 8 to hold an acid mixture 8. Within said container and fastened to-thebottom thereof is an upwardly extending thrust pin l0, terminating in asharp point H. About the thrust pin and ver- My invention relates to wetcell batteries and tically slideable through an opening in the top moreparticularl to means of filling very small of the container is a tubeI2. The tube i2 is wet cell batteries as used in radiosondeequipinternally threaded at its upper end for tt ment. ment to a tubing1 and is also provided, at its In certain radiosonde equipment the poweris upper end, with a resilient gasket It for an airfurnished by smallwet cell batteries. To prevent 10 tight connection with said tubing 1.The tube i2 deterioration these batteries are transported without theacid mixture, such as sulfuric, in them. They are filled in the fieldjust before use and. at full load, last about two hours. The batteriesare very small and have tiny openings and hence were formerly filled bymeans of a hypodermic I needle which was slow and laborious in thefield.

One method which is now being utilized is to enclose the batteries in apartially evacuated glass is fitted with an external annular flange i4having vertical guide bars it which extend through guide holes in thetop of the container 8, each guide bar being provided with a coil springIt.

To fill the batteries within the can 3 the tube 1 is screwed into thetube l2. The springs It should have suflicient stifiness to sustain thecan 3 in the position shown in the drawing while it is being screwedinto place. The can 3 is then pushed container having a glass tip. Tofill the batteries 2 downward until its bottom is pierced by the thrustthe glass tip is submerged in the acid mixture and pin l0. Due to thereduced pressure within the then broken off. Th difference in pressurecauses can 3 caused by the exhaustion of air by the vacthe acid mixtureto enter the glass container and m-Pack method, the acid mixture 9 whichis also the batteries. It is then necessary to break under normalatmospheric pressure since the co the lass container for removal of theactuated ainer 8 does n t h v an airti ht s a fl s p batteries. Thismethod is objectionable because into the can 3 and fills the batteries Ibecause the of the problems of transporting glass and the posaircontained in the small holes in these batteries sibility of injury inbreaking the glass for the is under the same pressure as the air in thecan removal of the batteries. My invention eliminates itself. The can 3is then opened by means of the these objections, key 6 and the activatedbatteries removed there- One object of my invention is to provide ametal fro e batteries are then wiped off and inevacuated can containingthe batteries to be filled, serted into the radiosonde equipment or thelike. with means for fastening it to a metal pipe with While the form ofembodiment of my invention an airtight seal therebetween, and with meansfor as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, opening the can bythe strip-key method. it is to be understood that other forms might beAnother object of my invention is to provide adap all coming Wi hin thescope of the claimsa container partially filled with the acid mixture,Havin hus described my invention I desire to such as sulfuric (1.350 sp.gr. for one shot service: secure by Letters Patent and claim: 1.280 sp.gr. for cycling), with a sharp thrust pin 1- A device f r fil g econdarybatteries comextending upwardly from the bottom. prising an c ed chambermember for said These and other objects will appear hereinafter from thefollowing description and drawing.

Referring to the drawing, which is for illustrative purpose only:

The single figure is an elevational view. The

' batteries l are retained in a cradle 2 within a paring strip 4removable by means of a key 8. To the underside of said can is joined ashort length of externally threaded tubing 1.

The battery filling unit consists of a container batteries, anelectrolyte container, airtight tubular connecting means for saidchamber member and said container, said chamber member and tubularconnecting means being movably connected to said electrolyte container,means fixed to said electrolyte container and extending within saidconnecting means for piercing said evacuated chamber member uponmovement between said evacuated chamber and said electrolyte container.

2. A device for filling wet cells comprising an evacuated can forcontaining said wet cells, an electrolyte container, an airtight tubularconnecting means for said can and said container, said can and tubularconnecting means being movably connected to said electrolyte container,and a 3 pointed member fastened to said container and extending withinsaid airtight tubularconnecting means for puncturing said evacuated canupon movement between said evacuated can and said means for said can andsaid container, said can 10 and said tubular connecting means beingmovabiy connected to said electrolyte container, and a puncturing meansfastened to said container and extending within said airtight tubularconnecting means for puncturing said can upon movement 1| between saidcan and said container.

GRENVILLE B. ELLIS.

nmmcas crrnn The following references are of record in the tile 01' thispatent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,198,619 Clymer Sept. 19. 1911,657,782 Berg Jan. 81, 1928 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date25,289/94 Great Britain Dec. 29, 1894 OTHER REFERENCES Willard:Automotive Industries, August 1, 1944, page 40.

